"It's a very simple game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains."
(Bull Durham)

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Pitching Notes

-- Maybe Ohlie isn't a month away, or maybe the Bucco staff thinks Jeff Karstens is their secret weapon. Either way, the beat gang reports that Karstens is going to take Ross Ohlendorf's spot in the rotation again Friday night against Washington.

With an off day on April 25th, the Pirates won't need to go to a fifth starter again until May 2nd, so they probably decided that it wasn't worth the disruption to bring up Brian Burres or Brad Lincoln at this time.

-- Jose Ascanio, Kevin Hart and Donnie Veal, a trio of arms that the Pirates have barely been able to evaluate during their stay in the organization, are working their way off the DL. Ascanio, who has suffered an assortment of nagging-type injuries, is close; he's beginning hid rehab at Indy tonight.

Hart, who had labrum surgery last May, still has a while to go. He's been in Florida, and the MLB staff is going to eyeball him while they're in Miami to see how he's coming along, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review.

Donnie Veal, who had TJ surgery last June, is expected to return to the hill sometime this June.

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